


That Punk

by Thefanfictor



Category: In the Heights - Miranda
Genre: "but dad i love him", (by family i mean usnavi), Acceptance, Arguing, Bisexuality, Coming Out, Compromise, Dialogue Heavy, Disapproving Family, Established Relationship, Humor, Light Angst, Love, M/M, That's basically what this is, just a little at the end, of several kinds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-06-30 01:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15741048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thefanfictor/pseuds/Thefanfictor
Summary: Usnavi's dislike of local street vandal Graffiti Pete is well known by everyone in the barrio.  So when Sonny tells his cousin that Pete is his boyfriend, it's no surprise that Usnavi's reaction is less than positive.  Will the cousins be able to compromise?





	That Punk

**Author's Note:**

> In The Heights is really good and I wrote this in a burst of inspiration after about my fiftieth time listening to it. Enjoy, y'all.

"No," Usnavi said, folding his arms over his chest and shaking his head.  "Absolutely not.  I forbid it."

Sonny scowled.  He matched his cousin's stance, arms crossed and feet planted.  "What do you mean, 'no'?"

"I mean, I am not letting my baby cousin date Graffiti goddamn Pete," Usnavi said.  "It's out of the question."

Sonny snorted at the words 'baby cousin', but sobered up when he heard the rest of the sentence.  "You do not get to decide who I date.  We're  _already_ dating.  You don't have a say in that.  I was just letting you know because I thought I should---hang on, don't tell me you're homophobic, 'Navi.  Because I'm bi as hell, and that would make you even more uncool than you already are."

Usnavi frowned.  "Excuse you, I'm the epitome of cool."

"It's using words like 'epitome' that make you  _uncool_ ," Sonny argued.  "Well, and how stupid you act around Vanessa.  And being homophobic, if you actually are.  You haven't given me an answer on that yet, by the way."

Rolling his eyes, Usnavi cut him off before he could say anything else.  "No, I'm not  _homophobic_ , Sonny.  I don't mind that you have a boyfriend.  I'm more bothered by your choice of boy."

"What's wrong with Pete?"

"He's two years older than you and he's a punk," Usnavi said matter-of-factly.  "You're not allowed to date hoodlums."

"Pete is not a hoodlum!" Sonny protested.  "He's an artist---"

"An  _illegal street artist_."

"---who happens to use an unusual medium.  And who even says 'hoodlum' anymore?"

"Your cool cousin Usnavi, that's who." When Sonny didn't respond, Usnavi reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.  "Hey.  Look at me."

Sonny did.  He was still scowling.  "How come you get to dictate who I go out with?"

"Part of the whole surrogate parent deal.  Besides, why do you want to go out with him, anyway? You're a smart kid, Sonny; you could do so much better." He smiled.  "Even if you think it's not 'cool' to use the word 'epitome'."

That got a laugh out of Sonny.  "Glad to know I'm not just your dumb baby cousin." He sighed, tipping his head back to stare at the cracks in their off-white ceiling.  "Pete's smart too, you know.  Even if he doesn't always show it.  He cares about what I think and he's fun to hang out with.  I can talk to him."

"You can talk to me, too," Usnavi said indignantly.  Sonny silenced him with a look.  "Sorry.  Please, go on."

"As I was  _saying_ ," Sonny said, with what Usnavi felt was an unnecessary amount of exasperation, "I can talk to Pete.  Well, we can talk to each other.  Most people don't exactly take either of us seriously."

Usnavi thought about telling him that no one takes sixteen-year-olds and street vandals seriously except other sixteen-year-olds and street vandals for a reason, but decided they didn't need to have this argument right now.  He had to pick his battles, after all, especially where Sonny was concerned.  "And what exactly do you two talk about?" He asked instead.

Sonny shrugged.  "Overthrowing the government, mostly."

Whatever he'd been expecting, it wasn't that.  "That's cool," Usnavi said, not sure what else to say.  "Good that you're . . . taking an interest in politics."

"Thanks, 'Navi.  I really needed your approval," Sonny said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey now, can the sarcasm," Usnavi warned.

"Sorry," Sonny mumbled.  He stared at his shoes, shuffling his feet, then looked back up at his cousin.  "So you're really not gonna let me see Pete anymore?"

Usnavi rubbed the back of his neck.  "Well . . ." he hesitated, trying not to meet Sonny's hopeful gaze.  "If it's really that important to you . . . I guess I can make an exception to my 'no hoodlums' rule."

Sonny's jaw dropped.  Quicker than Usnavi could blink, Sonny threw his arms around him, squeezed him hard enough to crack his ribs, and released him again, bouncing on the balls of his feet as a seemingly uncontrollable grin spread across his face.  "Thank you so much! I won't let you down."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Usnavi puffed, feeling his chest gingerly to assess the damage.  "You understand this is a one-time thing, right? I don't want you bringing home any other punks to vandalize the bodega."

"No one is going to vandalize anything," Sonny promised.  His grin turned into something more like a smirk.  "We might put up some more meaningful art pieces in public locations, though."

Usnavi took a step forward, shaking a finger.  "Don't make me regret this."

Sonny backed up hastily and put his hands up in surrender with a nervous laugh.  "Kidding! I'm kidding.  But seriously, thanks for being so chill about this."

"Hey, no problem.  You know I love you.  And one bi cousin to another---" Sonny's eyes widened "---we know getting _anyone_ to date us is an achievement, am I right?"

Sonny was still gaping at him.  Usnavi clapped him on the shoulder.  "Cousin Usnavi's a little cooler than you thought, eh?"

"Don't ruin it," Sonny groaned, already back to his usual sarcastic self.  "But that reminds me----can we have Pete over for Christmas this year? He doesn't really have anywhere else to go, and we'll always have room for one more."

"I don't know, Sonny.  What about the barrio potluck?" Usnavi hedged.  He supposed he was alright with Pete dating Sonny, but having him over for Christmas was pushing it.

Sonny waved a dismissive hand.  "The potluck's fine, I guess, but it's not the same as having a place to stay for the holiday.  It would be fun."

"Where would he sleep?" Usnavi asked.  "In case you haven't noticed, we don't exactly have bedrooms to spare." Sonny opened his mouth and Usnavi, guessing what he was going to say, held up a hand to stop him.  "No, I'm not letting him stay in your room."

Sonny thought for a moment.  "We have a couch, don't we? Is that far enough from my room for you?"

As much as he tried, Usnavi couldn't find fault with his suggestion.  "Fine.  He can come over for family dinner.  But if I find any more graffiti on the bodega _or related properties_ , the deal's off.  Understood?"

"No problemo, cuz," Sonny said, starting to smile again.  "I promise everything'll be fine."

"Don't make promises you don't know if you can keep," Usnavi said, but Sonny didn't hear him, already running down the hall to the apartment door.

"I'm gonna go tell Pete the good news!" He yelled over his shoulder before dashing outside and letting the door swing shut behind him.  Even after that, Usnavi could hear him shouting excitedly down in the bodega's lot.

"What do you say, Abuela?" Usnavi asked, looking up at the ceiling.  "He's still a punk in my book, and if he breaks Sonny's heart, I'mma stick his head on a spike." He heard someone (probably Pete) whoop downstairs and chuckled.  "They seem pretty happy, though.  And I can't exactly talk about unlikely couples.  I mean, who'd have thought I'd finally get Vanessa to go out with me?" He sighed.  "Wish you were here to see it.  I know you're feeding birds in heaven."

Wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, Usnavi adjusted his hat, then headed outside to watch the (figurative) fireworks. 

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the angst at the end, I couldn't resist. Hope you liked it, leave a comment/kudos if you did!


End file.
